Planning Partner

The purpose of this role is to own the day-to-day client relationship and all elements of delivery. Including, implementation of the strategic vision for the client, delivery against the financial targets set and building a trusted relationship with the client.

Job Title:

Planning Partner

Job Description:

The purpose of this role is to be the first point of contact for strategic thinking and doing on the new brand in Salty Snacks and for related horizontal briefs, such as the Kellanova learning agenda and Co-op's Media for Good roadmap, changes in marketing regulation and policy. You will be helping both clients (but Kellanova in particular) navigate changes in High Fat, Salt and Sugar (HFSS) marketing regulations in UK (the lead market in Europe). You will be instrumental in spearheading award standard and innovative work for Kellanova & Co-op.

As a Planning Partner you will be expected to have experience across more than one category and be prepared and confident to hold your own in debates with senior marketers and creative agency personnel, while also being open to learning and applying marketing theory, keeping apace of developments in the media marketplace.

Co-op:

• Main point of contact facing into Co-op internal pan Co-op media lead and/or the marketing SLT. 

• Facilitate and run the pan Co-op bi-monthly strategic connects with the Co-op SLT. 
• Attend all key campaign and annual briefings to identify synergies or unique requirements and drive collaboration and connection between them. 
• Run weekly pan Co-op planning connects with comms planning teams. 
• Work with Head of Strategy to tailor and align the media / comms framework (and its application) across all Co-op/Nisa BUs. 
• Work closely with Managing Partner, Digital MD and Client MD to roadmap projects and identify clear processes for how to identify pan Co-op vs BU-specific testing opportunities.

Kellogg’s Strategy Lead/Planning Partner’s key responsibilities:

• Lead market launch and annual strategic responses for Kellanova’s new Salty Snacks brand
• Run inter-agency and client workshops
• Collaborate with Merkle (Dentsu CX agency), Leo Burnett and other creative agencies
• Input into creative directions and experience frameworks
• Insight generation
• Define roles for channels
• Lead innovative thinking in media, comms and partnerships
• Define KPIs and develop evaluation frameworks
• Help facilitate Kellanova’s way of working, Kellanova Experience Planning (KXP)

Planning Partner/Strategy Lead is expected to:

• Be at ease owning the relationship with senior clients in different marketing disciplines

• Articulate a strategic vision and ensure it can be implemented with the support of the comms planning lead, market planning lead and relevant specialists within the assigned account team or wider dentsu
• Be prepared to research and develop/apply alternative planning approaches that support the achievement of client objectives
• Be an ambassador for the business, connecting across internal and external networks to deliver the operating model and build the brand reputation of dentsu

Do I need to have global or multi-market media strategy or planning experience to work on Kellanova?

This would be ideal, but it’s not essential. Some of our team have got multi-market experience, others don’t.

You will need to be prepared to develop multi-market strategies though and will need to consider the needs of different markets and be prepared to develop tiered strategies and approaches.

UK is the lead market on most Kellanova brands.

Similarly, FMCG experience is ideal, but not essential.

The ideal candidate would have multi-channel media strategy or planning experience, as well as experience of launching new products and variants.

What else do I need to know?

The Co-op is based in Manchester and you would be expected to travel to their offices once or twice a month.

Carat’s Kellanova Europe team comprises 3 Strategy Leads, 3 Comms Planning Leads and 3 Market Planning Leads. Kellanova is a centralised media account with its own in house media team.

Kellanova is based in Dublin with new offices next to Dublin airport. Most client contact is by Teams, but you should be prepared to fly to Dublin for client meetings in the future.

You need to be enthusiastic (or at least curious!) about developments in digital media and gaming. We are looking for a brief maker, not just a brief taker!

Location:

London

Brand:

Carat

Time Type:

Full time

Contract Type:

Permanent